Netanyahu meets Obama as new housing controversy emerges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Laura Rozen - (Blog) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is supposed to meet with President Obama at the White House at 5:30pm. The meeting comes shortly after Israeli media reported that late last week, the Jerusalem municipality gave final approval to a group of settlers to construct 20 apartments at the Shepherd Hotel site in the contested Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. » Read more

J'lem building c'tee meetings frozen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post March 24, 2010 - 12:00am Since the furor when plans to build 1,600 new housing units in east Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo were announced during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, all discussions by the Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Committee over new construction in the capital have been frozen, it was announced Wednesday. Jerusalem Municipality official Yair Gabai made the statement in an interview with Army Radio, and it was later confirmed by the Interior Ministry. "Unfortunately, since Biden's visit, all committee meetings have been frozen until further notice," said Gabai. » Read more

Court ruling lets settlers shoot in air to repel Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - March 23, 2010 - 12:00am A recent Jerusalem Magistrate's Court verdict indicates that settlers may fire in the air to repel unarmed Palestinians, a ruling that a Palestinian rights advocate called a dangerous precedent. Magistrate's Court Judge Hagit Kalmanovitch ruled last month that Abraham Hofi, of the settlement of Halamish, was not guilty of issuing threats or mishandling a weapon when he fired in the air from his father's balcony on May 6, 2005, after observing three Palestinians shepherding a herd some 100 meters from the settlement fence. » Read more

No sign of breakthrough in Netanyahu-Obama meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews March 24, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama met twice during a dramatic evening in the White House, but no signs emerged of a breakthrough in a row over Jewish settlements. Obama hosted Netanyahu in the Oval Office late Tuesday for 90 minutes, but with the two sides embroiled in their most testy disagreement in years, unusually did not appear before the cameras with his visitor. As an evening of intense diplomacy developed, Netanyahu then asked to consult privately with his staff, a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity. » Read more

Israel, undeterred, to build in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am Undeterred by turbulence in its ties with the United States and Britain, Israel on Wednesday confirmed further plans to expand the Jewish presence in occupied East Jerusalem, with more building freshly approved. In a move sure to anger Palestinians and frustrate Western proponents of a freeze on settlement construction, a city official said approval was given to develop a flashpoint neighbourhood from which Palestinians were evicted last year. » Read more

Britain expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai passport row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News March 23, 2010 - 12:00am The UK is to expel an Israeli diplomat over 12 forged British passports used in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January. David Miliband said there were "compelling reasons" to believe Israel was responsible for the forgeries. The foreign secretary said the misuse of British passports was "intolerable". Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, said he was "disappointed", but Israel confirmed there would be no tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion. » Read more

Israel investigates shooting of Palestinian youths ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 24, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli army is investigating the shooting deaths of two Palestinian teenagers at the weekend in the occupied West Bank, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The incident in the village of Iraq Burin was one of two fatal clashes in which four died, worsening tension between the sides and further complicating U.S.-led efforts to restart stalled peace talks. » Read more

PA: No talks till Jerusalem construction stops ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 23, 2010 - 12:00am There will be no peace or stability without a Palestinian Jerusalem, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said on Tuesday. Responding to comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the conference of the Israeli lobby group AIPAC in Washington on Monday evening, Abu Rudaineh spoke as President Mahmoud Abbas awaited news from the closed-door meeting between the Israeli leader and American President Barack Obama. » Read more

Netanyahu's reluctant gift to Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not being honest with his fellow Israelis by insisting that settlement building is compatible with a peaceful future between Israelis and Palestinians, or that the colonisation of occupied East Jerusalem "in no way harms" Palestinians and is not in any sense different from building in Tel Aviv. » Read more

Petraeus requests West Bank, Gaza be included in Centcom's sphere ATFP World Press Roundup Article from World Tribune March 23, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Centcom chief Gen. David Petraeus has urged the administration of President Barack Obama to include both the West Bank and Gaza Strip in his area of responsibility. Centcom has been responsible for most of the Middle East with the exception of Israel and much of North Africa. Israel as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been located in U.S. European Command. » Read more